1,721,036 research outputs found
Stable carbon isotopes and prehistoric diets in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.The research reported in this thesis involves the measurement of stable carbon isotope ratios in human bone collagen as a means of reconstructing prehistoric diets. The sample population includes 67 skeletons of hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and agriculturalists from the Holocene of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The aims of the thesis include the testing, through direct quantitative measurements, of the validity of archaeological conclusions about prehistoric human behaviour in the Eastern Cape. Secondly, the usefulness and applicability of the 13c tracer technique is demonstrated in what is arguable the most complex situation an archaeologist is likely to encounter. The natural environment included c3 and c4 plants, browsing and grazing ungulates, and a marine component - all subject to environmental change over the period under study - while the cultural environment included three different subsistence systems plus transition stages between them. A third, or subsidiary goal, was to test whether burial practices can be correlated with subsistence economies in this situation - that is, whether ritual and dietary behaviour formed part of some larger cultural whole such as "pastoralists" - in order to be able to assign individuals to socio-economic groups on the basis of burial pattern. The results of the laboratory analysis realize these goals with varying degrees of success and with important consequences for the archaeologist
The effect of selected polymorphisms in the p53 pathway as potential genetic modifiers of cancer risk and penetrance in female Afrikaner BRCA2 carriers
No full textGermline mutations in BRCA2 confer a high risk for the development of breast cancer in the Afrikaner population. A great deal of variability in the development of the disease has been observed among mutation positive family members. Evidence suggested that genes affecting breast cancer risk in the general population could potentially also affect breast cancer risk in BRCA mutation carriers. The cell cycle control pathway was selected as a candidate as the functional loss of the tumour suppressor protein p53 is a common feature in diverse human cancers. The ability of this protein to sense cellular damage and halt the progression of the cell cycle or direct the cells to apoptosis is essential in preventing tumourigenesis. The aim of the study was an attempt to identify potential genetic modifiers of breast cancer risk and penetrance in Afrikaner women carrying the South African founder BRCA2 c.8162delG mutation. It involved environmental factors as well as six polymorphisms detected in critical genes of the Tp53 pathway. The investigated polymorphisms included three variants previously detected in Tp53 (intron 3, exon 4 and intron 6), a polymorphism present in the promoter of MDM2 and two SNPs identified in WAF1 (intron 2 and exon 2). The epidemiological study failed to identify any specific characteristic associated with an increased or protective breast cancer risk and did not explain the observed residual variation. Of the six polymorphisms studied, only one proved to be statistically significant, namely the 5’ splice-site variant in intron 2 of WAF1. This polymorphism seemed to explain the variation in penetrance for some of the families, but needs to be confirmed by more extensive studies. A breast cancer recombinant haplotype was compiled using the most informative variants, namely the polymorphism in the MDM2 promoter, the 5’ splice-site variant in intron 2 of WAF1 and the SNP in exon 4 of Tp53, but proved to be uninformative. Association studies including gene to gene and gene to environment interactions could assist researchers in their understanding of the mechanistic basis of the polygenic nature of breast cancer
Screening of young and/or familial African breast cancer patients for the presence of BRCA mutations
No full textEnglish: Screening for mutations within the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is a daunting task due to the length of the genes and the absence of mutational hotspots. An additional contributing factor is the genetic diversity within the Black ethnic groups of Africa, including the Sotho/Tswanas of the Free State. As no information was available regarding the prevalence of BRCA mutations within this group, this pilot study was launched in an attempt to determine the genetic component attributable to BRCA mutations in BC development.
The selection criteria were not optimal and possible sporadic or single cases were included which according to literature, is not associated with mutations within the two familial BC genes. This resulted in a low percentage of disease-causing mutations being detected. It is proposed that the selection criteria in the future should emphasize the selection of bilateral BC cases with or without a positive family history. This characteristic seems to be more closely associated with familial BC in the Black patients than an early age at onset. The latter could be masking the familial BC cases, as the median age of onset of the disease in Black ethnic groups is 48.
Two disease-causing mutations were identified, one within each of the genes. Both mutations were detected with PTT as they are located within exon 11. This indicates that this technique, although based on older technology, is still a valuable screening technique as it is cost-effective and less time consuming than screening the larger exons with for example high resolution melting (HRM).
The two mutations are both situated within critical regions of the genes. BRCA1 c.2069_2072delAAAG,p.Lys653SerfsX699 is located within the binding domain of Rad50 whereas BRCA2 c.6455_6455delT,p.Lys2075ArgfsX2078 is located in BRC repeat 8. The presence of both these mutations will result in a truncated protein that would probably not be able to participate in DNA repair in response to DNA damage and cell cycle control (Green and Lin, 2012). This could result in chromosome instability and therefore tumour formation.
Both mutations are novel and have not been detected internationally nor in the Black population residing in Gauteng SA. As all mutations detected thus far for the Black SA population seem to be limited to a single family and with no founder mutations found, full screening of both these genes remains the golden standard.
Functional studies should be performed for the intronic variant BRCA2 c.517-4C>G (g.32900632C>G, rs81002804) detected in various patients. As this intronic variant is located only four bp from the start of exon 7, it could play a role in creating an alternative splice site. These studies together with the analysis of control individuals from the various Black SA ethnic groups will resolve the question whether this variant has the potential to be disease-causing.Afrikaans: Sifting vir mutasies in die oorerflike borskanker gene BRCA1 en BRCA2 is ‘n senutergende taak. Dit word bemoeilik deur die grootte van elkeen van hierdie gene sowel as die afwesigheid van spesifieke areas waarin foute algemeen voorkom. Die genetiese variasie teenwoordig in die swart bevolkingsgroepe, insluitend die Sotho/Tswana etniese groep van die Vrystaat, bemoeilik hierdie taak verder. Hierdie studie is ge-inisieer weens die gebrek aan inligting aangaande die teenwoordigheid van BRCA mutasies vir hierdie bevolkingsgroep. Die studie het dus gepoog om te bepaal tot watter mate BRCA mutasies bydra tot die genetiese komponent van oorerflike borskanker vir hierdie groep.
Die seleksie kriteria tydens hierdie studie was nie optimaal nie. Die vermoede bestaan dat verskeie sporadiese borskanker gevalle ingesluit was, wat daartoe gelei het dat die persentasie positiewe resultate baie laag was. Volgens literatuur, is daar geen verband tussen sporadiese borskanker gevalle en mutasies in die oorerflike borskanker gene nie. Aangesien bilaterale borskanker in swart pasiënte wel ‘n assosiasie toon met die oorerflike tipe, word daar voorgestel dat toekomstige studies hierdie eienskap sal gebruik om sodoende meer potensiëel oorerflike gevalle in te sluit. Indien slegs ‘n vroëe ouderdom van diagnose gebruik word as insluitings kriterium, kan dit die persentasie oorerflike gevalle verskuil aangesien die gemiddelde ouderdom van borskanker diagnose 48 is vir die swart bevolkingsgroepe.
Twee siekte-veroorsakende mutasies is gevind, een in BRCA1 en een in BRCA2. Hierdie mutasies is albei in ekson 11 van die onderskeie gene geleë en is geïdentifiseer deur van die verkorte proteïen toets (PTT) gebruik te maak. Die resultate het die waarde van PTT opnuut geïllustreer ten spyte daarvan dat dit eintlik ou tegnologie is. Die betrokke metode is baie meer koste effektief en tyd
besparend om groot koderende areas te deursoek, wanneer dit byvoorbeeld met HRM vergelyk word.
Die twee siekte-veroorsakende mutasies is in kritiese areas van beide hierdie gene geleë. BRCA1 c.2069_2072delAAAG,p.Lys653SerfsX699 lê binne die bindingsgebied van Rad50 met BRCA1, terwyl BRCA2 c.6455_6455delT,p.Lys2075ArgfsX2078 geleë is in BRC herhaling 8. Die teenwoordigheid van beide hierdie mutasies lei heel waarskynlik tot die vorming van verkorte polipeptiede wat nie die selsiklus kan beheer en gevolglike DNA skade kan herstel nie (Green and Lin, 2012). Dit kan weer lei tot onstabiele chromosome wat op hulle beurt aanleiding tot die vorming van gewasse kan gee.
Nie een van die twee mutasies is al voorheen vir beide internasionale of die plaaslike swart bevolking beskryf nie. Die mutasies bekend is dus huidiglik beperk tot enkele families. Aangesien geen stigters- of herhalende mutasies tot dusver gevind is nie, bemoeilik dit diagnostiese toetsing. Die DNA van swart pasiënte moet dus tans volledig deurgesoek word met behulp van DNA volgordebepaling as die goue standard.
Funksionele studies is egter nodig om te bepaal of die BRCA2 c.517-4C>G (g.32900632C>G, rs81002804) variant teenwoordig in intron 6 siekte- veroorsakend kan wees. Aangesien hierdie variant vier basisse vanaf die begin van ekson 7 lê, kan die verandering moontlik ‘n nuwe herkenningsgebied vir die uitsny van ekson 7 te weeg bring. Hierdie addisionele studies, sowel as die toets van normale kontrole individue vir die teenwoordigheid van die variant, sal meer lig op die moontlikheid werp
Molecular screening of the South African Indian population for BRCA1 and BRCA2 using high resolution melting analysis
No full textEnglish: The lifetime risk for developing breast cancer within the Indian population of South Africa is one in 17. Disease causing mutations in BRCA1/2 increase the risk of developing this disease by up to 80%. The main objective of this study was to screen this unique population for mutations in BRCA1/2.
This was achieved by optimising High Resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA) as the screening technique for the smaller exons while the Protein Truncation Test (PTT) was used to screen exon 11 for BRCA1/2 respectively. In order to optimise HRMA, a full BRCA1/2 screen was performed on 24 patients from four different South African ethnic groups using Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism/ Heteroduplex Analysis (SSCP/HA). These results were compared to a HRMA screen performed on the same patients. No differences were observed between the sensitivity of the three techniques and the turnaround time (TAT) was considerably less for HRMA.
The entire cohort used in this study came from 50 unrelated South African Indian patients. A full BRCA1/2 screen was performed on these patients. A total of nine different pathogenic mutations were detected. Four of the disease causing mutations (BRCA1 c.1360_1361delAG, p.Ser454Terfs; c.3593T>A, p.Leu1198Ter and BRCA2 c.5279C>G, p.Ser1760Ter; 5563C>G, p.Ser1855Ter) were detected using PTT, whereas the other five mutations (BRCA1 185delAG, p.Leu22_Glu23LeuValfs; c.191G>A, p.Cys64Tyr; c.5365_5366delGCinsA, p.Ala1789_Ile1790LeuTrpfs and BRCA2 c.9435_9436delGT, Val3145_Phe3146=fs; c.8754+1G>A, IVS21+1G>A) were detected using HRMA. Three unrelated patients were carriers of the splice site mutation found within BRCA2 exon 21.
The research that was conducted, contributed to the knowledge pool for predictive testing in the clinical setting of South Africa and gave insight into possible diagnostic tests that could be designed for this population.Afrikaans: Die risiko onder die Indiër bevolking van Suid-Afrika om borskanker te ontwikkel was een in 17. Siekteveroorsakende mutasies in BRCA1/2 het die risiko om hierdie siekte te ontwikkel met tot 80% verhoog. Die hoofdoelwit van hierdie studie was om sifting van BRCA1/2 in hierdie unieke bevolkingsgroep te doen.
Dit is bereik deur High Resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA) as die siftingsmetode vir kleiner eksons te optimiseer, terwyl Protein Truncation Test (PTT) gebruik is om ekson 11 vir BRCA1/2 te sif. Om HRMA te optimiseer is volle BRCA1/2 sifting uitgevoer op 24 pasiënte vanuit 4 verskillende Suid-Afrikaanse etniese groepe deur middel van Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism/ Heteroduplex Analysis (SSCP/HA). Hierdie resultate is met HRMA vergelyk wat op dieselfde pasiënte uitgevoer is. Geen verskille is opgemerk tussen die sensitiwiteit van die drie tegnieke nie en die omkeertyd was aansienlik korter vir HRMA.
Die hele studiegroep het bestaan uit 50 onverwante Suid-Afrikaanse Indiër pasiënte. Volle BRCA1/2 sifting is uitgevoer op hierdie pasiënte. ‘n Totaal van nege verskillende patogeniese mutasies is ontdek. Vier van die siekteveroorsakende mutasies (BRCA1 c.1360_1361delAG, p.Ser454Terfs; c.3593T>A, p.Leu1198Ter en BRCA2 c.5279C>G, p.Ser1760Ter; 5563C>G, p.Ser1855Ter) is ontdek deur middel van PTT, terwyl die ander vyf mutasies (BRCA1 185delAG, p.Leu22_Glu23LeuValfs; c.191G>A, p.Cys64Tyr; c.5365_5366delGCinsA, p.Ala1789_Ile1790LeuTrpfs en BRCA2 c.9435_9436delGT, Val3145_Phe3146=fs; c.8754+1G>A, IVS21+1G>A) ontdek is deur middel van HRMA. Drie onverwante pasiënte was draers van die mutasie wat in BRCA2 ekson 21 ontdek is.
Die navorsing wat gedoen is het bygedra tot die kennis vir voorspellingstoetsing in die kliniese omgewing van Suid-Afrika en het insig gelewer van die moontlike diagnostiese toetse wat ontwerp kan word vir hierdie bevolkingsgroep.Struwig-Germeshuysen Kankernavorsingstrus
Influence of selected polymorphisms on the expression of breast cancer in Afrikaner BRCA2 carriers
No full textEnglish: The aim of the study was to elucidate the variation in phenotypic expression observed within BRCA2 c.8162delG mutation positive families. The study attempted to identify possible genetic factors that contribute to the residual risk conferred by the BRCA2 founder mutation. As BC is a polygenetic disorder, polymorphisms within various low penetrance genes may contribute to the expression of the disease. The selection of the SNPs were based on the results of the CIMBA consortium and have been proven to be associated with an increased BC risk in the general population (Easton et al., 2007) and in BRCA2 mutation carriers specifically (Antoniou et al., 2008). Two SNPs (rs2234693 [PvuII] and rs9340799 [XbaI]) present within ESR1 as well as SNPs present in TNRC9 (rs3803662), LSP1 (rs3817198), MAP3K1 (rs889312) and FGFR2 (rs2981582) identified by GWAS have been implicated in BC risk. These six polymorphisms have been selected to evaluate the risk within the Afrikaner BRCA2 8162delG (c.7934del, p.Arg2645AsnfsX3) mutation carriers specifically. Genotyping of rs2234693 (PvuII) and rs9340799 (XbaI) was done by PCR-RFLP analysis whereas Taqman® assays were used for genotyping rs3803662 (TNRC9), rs3817198 (LSP1), rs889312 (MAP3K1) and rs2981582 (FGFR2). Automated allelic discrimination using the BioRad CFX Manager v1.1.308.1111 software were compared to manual discrimination methods to ensure robust genotyping. Cohen’s kappa analysis suggested a combination of automated (Method 1) and manual (Method 3) genotyping was best suited for accurate allelic discrimination except for LSP1. Due to an putative SNP detected within LSP1, the validity of the LSP1 results should be treated cautiously as no information on the frequency of the second putative SNP in white European individuals is available. Of the six polymorphisms analyzed, only rs2234693 (PvuII), indicated a possible association with BC (P-value = 0.0896), which should be explored within a larger study group. For FGFR2, the HWE results indicated that the deviation observed in the BRCA2 mutation carrier group could possibly be associated with BC. Haplotypes compiled for rs2234693 (PvuII) and rs9340799 (XbaI) as well as the remaining four SNPs were uninformative as it revealed no differences between the BC patients and the Cases. These results may have been due to the high allelic heterogeneity observed within the Afrikaner population, as well as the small test group used.. Although the results of this study did not deliver significant results, it did provide insight into allelic distributions of the SNPs in the Afrikaner BRCA2 8162delG (c.7934del, p.Arg2645AsnfsX3) mutation carriers specifically. Larger scale genotyping could lead to more significant findings to help elucidate the polygenetic nature of BC with the Afrikaner.Afrikaans: Die doel van hierdie studie was om die variasie waargeneem in die fenotipiese uitdrukking onder BRCA2 k.8162delG mutasie positiewe families toe te lig. Die studie het gepoog om verskeie genetiese faktore wat moontlik kan bydra tot die gesamentlike risiko wat toegeken word deur die BRCA2 stigtersmutasie, te identifiseer. Aangesien borskanker ʼn poligeniese siekte is, kan polimorfismes binne verskeie lae-penetrasie gene tot die uitdrukking van die siekte bydra. Die seleksie van die polimorfismes was gebaseer op die resultate van die CIMBA konsortium wat bewys het dat diè polimorfismes met verhoogde borskanker risiko in die algemene populasie (Easton et al., 2007) sowel as in die BRCA2 stigtersmutasie draers spesifiek geassosieerd is (Antoniou et al., 2008). Twee polimorfismes (rs2234693 [PvuII] en rs9340799 [XbaI]) teenwoordig in ESR1 asook die polimorfismes teenwoordig in TNRC9 (rs3803662), LSP1 (rs3817198), MAP3K1 (rs889312) en FGFR2 (rs2981582) wat deur GWAS geidentifiseer is, word met ‘n verhoogde borskanker risiko geassosieer. Die ses polimorfismes is gekies om die addisionele risiko in die Afrikaner BRCA2 k. 8162delG (k.7934del, p.Arg2645AsnfsX3) mutasie draers spesifiek te ondersoek. Genotipering van rs2234693 (PvuII) en rs9340799 (XbaI) is uitgevoer met behulp van ensiem snydings (RFLP), terwyl Taqman® analises gebruik is om rs3803662 (TNRC9), rs3817198 (LSP1), rs889312 (MAP3K1) en rs2981582 (FGFR2) te genotipeer. Outomatiese alleliese diskriminasie gedoen deur die BioRad CFX Manager v1.1.308.1111 sagteware is vergelyk met semi- en nie-outomatiese diskriminasie metodes om sodoende robuuste genotipering te verseker. Cohen se kappa analises het die datastelle vergelyk en aangedui dat die metode van analise van Metode 1 en Metode 3 die meeste ooreenstem, met LSP1 as die uitsondering. Die teenwoordigheid van ‘n addisionele polimorfisme binne dieselfde gebied, impliseer dat die data ingewin vir LSP1 met versigtigheid geïnterpreteer moet word. Geen inligting rakende die frekwensie van hierdie polimorfisme was vir die Europese individue beskikbaar nie. Van die ses polimorfismes geanaliseer, het slegs rs2234693 (PvuII) ʼn moontlike assosiasie met borskanker getoon (P-waarde = 0.0896) wat in ‘n toekomstige groter studie verder ondersoek moet word. Die HWE resultate het aangedui dat die afwyking waargeneem vir FGFR2 in die BRCA2 mutasie draer groep, moontlike assosiasie met borskanker kan beteken. Saamgestelde haplotipes vir rs2234693 (PvuII) en rs9340799 (XbaI) asook die oorblywende vier polimorfismes was oninsiggewend omdat daar geen verkil tussen die borskanker pasiënte en gevalle opgemerk is nie. Die bevindinge kan moontlik die gevolg wees van die hoë alleliese variasie waargeneem in die Afrikaner populasie, sowel as die klein toetsgroep wat gebruik is. Alhoewel die bevindinge van die studie nie statisties betekenisvolle resultate opgelewer het nie, dui dit die alleliese verpreiding van die polimorfimses in die Afrikaner BRCA2 k.8162delG (k.7934del, p.Arg2645AsnfsX3) mutasie draers aan. Grootskaalse genotipering kan lei tot meer insiggewende bevindige.National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS
Applying a framework-based approach to teach complex problem-solving to Accounting students
Get PDFMCom (Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015Accounting transactions are becoming more complex, and more extensive accounting guidance is provided on a continuous basis in the accounting standards. In addition, accounting guidance changes often and additional guidance is added to the standards regularly. In view of this immense
amount of accounting knowledge that an accountant can be expected to have, exacerbated by often multifaceted structures in accounting problems, it can be challenging and onerous to solve certain accounting problems. The premise of this study is that accounting problems can also be solved in a less complex manner with reference to the foundational accounting concepts included in the Conceptual Framework for
Financial Reporting (CF). The solution to the accounting problem using the CF should result in a similar answer had the detailed, complex accounting guidance been consulted. This is based on the
understanding that the detailed guidance is consistent with the CF and that the CF is not underdeveloped. In the experience of the author of this dissertation, however, the CF is rarely used to consider the accounting treatment of specific transactions and the first point of reference is usually the detailed, specific guidance. In order to impart a practice of incorporating the CF in problem-solving, the study in this dissertation is underpinned by educational philosophies rooted mainly in constructivism, and specifically in Ausubel’s subsumption theory. Applied to accounting education, this theory suggests a frameworkbased
approach whereby educators first instill a detailed knowledge of the CF in an Accounting course and thereafter present details of specific accounting transactions by building and crossreferencing to the foundational concepts in the CF. In addition, the paradigm in Accounting courses should also incorporate problems and experiments through which students can construct their own knowledge, rather than being passive recipients of an educator’s teaching style. Recent literature on framework-based teaching suggests that such an approach is beneficial as it enhances lifelong learning.
This study reported on a framework-based approach incorporated in an Accounting course and aimed to determine students’ ability to solve complex accounting problems by referring only to the CF, as well as to determine the factors that could influence their ability to solve the problems and
the preferred problem-solving approach of students in facing future accounting problems. In order to address the broad aim of this study, it was divided into two sections, each to identify and analyse a
different aspect of accounting problem-solving that incorporated the CF. The study in this dissertation focused mainly on an interpretive research paradigm. The first project had the primary objective of determining whether students have the ability to solve complex accounting problems by using only the CF and determining which factors could influence their ability. This was established by analysing the content and results of an assignment administered to third-year Accounting students at a South African university in which students were required to solve problems using only the CF. The second project had the objective of determining the preferred future approach students will take in solving
accounting problems after they have been exposed to a framework-based assignment. This was established through qualitative measures and augmented by a questionnaire to analyse the students’
perceptions. The contributions of this dissertation are manifold and include, but are not limited to, the realisation that a conceptual approach to accounting education is beneficial in Accounting courses. The results in this study indicate that the ability of students to solve complex accounting problems by referring only to the CF may depend on the complexity of the scenario and the students’ familiarity with the problem. In addition, after being exposed to a framework-based assignment, students may tend to prefer a mixed approach in solving accounting problems, which entails a combination of the concepts
in the CF and specific accounting guidance governing a particular transaction. The author also believes that this study makes a practical contribution by providing an actual framework-based
assignment which can be used or adapted by other Accounting educators to use in similar courses, or to help them develop similar assignments or case studies or to replicate the study. From an educational perspective, it is recommended that Accounting educators incorporate an emphasis on the CF in their teaching approach. As students are exposed to opportunities to exercise their judgement using the concepts included in the CF, they will gain experience in this and be able to exercise better judgement in future. Each time a student is exposed to a problem requiring to be solved using the CF, or is required to make necessary judgements with regard to the CF, it will lead to the creation of new knowledge which the student can constantly link and cross-reference to existing knowledge and experiences. It also appears that, when students are exposed to problem-solving using the CF, it may lead to accountants adopting a more balanced approach by considering more CF constructs in solving future accounting problems. Although the study in this dissertation was conducted at only one university, its implications are by no means limited to this institution. Extrapolation of results cannot be attempted due to the nature of the research design, but the results in this study are valuable and enhance accounting education literature in better understanding students’ problem-solving abilities and their preferred problemsolving approach. The research is therefore valuable to any Accounting educator, as well as the institutional bodies guiding accounting education and its syllabi. It is hoped also that some of the findings will inspire other educational institutions to promote a framework-based approach in an innovative manner.Master
Ameliorating chartered accountants' training at a South African university : interventions for reform
Get PDFPhD (Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014The profession of chartered accountancy (CA) is critical to the economic, social and cultural development of South Africa. It has the potential to play a broader leadership role in the development of the financial skills the country needs so desperately. Extensive research has shown that South Africa has far too few CAs to satisfy the needs of the economy. The profession itself is, however, facing numerous challenges especially given the high expectations of employers of newly qualified CAs and the image of the profession in South Africa in regard to transforming professional demographics, a vestige of the apartheid regime.
Many commentators agree that the fundamental flaw in accounting education is that it has remained static while the profession has changed. There is growing consensus among accounting professionals that recent accounting graduates do not adequately meet the standards set by potential employers in the modern, globalised business environment. One university that offers an accredited CA programme is the North-West University (NWU) which is perfectly placed to draw students from rural and urban areas alike; it has the potential to make a significant contribution to the accountancy skills shortage of the country and, hence, contribute to the economy and broader society. However, being newly formed as a result of government‟s merger of various historic institutions, the NWU faces some tough challenges in its endeavours to contribute to the delivery of CAs.
The NWU must identify and break down the barriers, limitations and weaknesses that prohibit its students from achieving optimal results, especially the barriers that can, at least partly, be controlled or influenced by the university. The various studies reported on in this thesis are all built around this pivotal theme, i.e. they all endeavour to reveal the hurdles the institution needs to overcome or the areas that require improvement to ensure that the NWU successfully delivers as many as possible CA graduates of the highest quality and to the optimal benefit of employers and broader society. Ultimately, this study wishes to provide the NWU with the information it needs to reform its CA programme in line with this goal. In broad terms, this study, therefore, aims to establish the extent of the barriers to success of the CA programme at the NWU and to make recommendations on appropriate interventions to address such issues.
To address the broad aim of this thesis, it is divided into five subordinate research projects, each designed to identify areas in the NWU‟s CA programme that necessitate amelioration. The first project has the primary objective of comparing and critically analysing differences in curriculum, teaching and learning methods, and assessment between the NWU CA programme and the professional accountancy department of a comparable university in the United Kingdom (UK) (so as to identify possible interventions for the NWU programme). It would be imprudent for any organisation not to look first towards international best practice in search of interventions, and a comparable UK institution is an obvious choice given the similarities in degree structures, the South African higher education framework having originally developed from the UK framework. The method employed is a case study involving the comparison of the qualification frameworks of the two countries involved and of two specific accounting degrees in regard to curriculum, teaching and learning, and assessment, including the inspection of institutional documentation and an analysis of focus group transcripts involving academic staff from either institution.
The remainder of the projects delve into more specific internal concerns regarding the NWU‟s CA programme. The second project has the objective of identifying and gauging the strength of possible barriers to student achievement (as identified in the literature) in the NWU‟s CA programme and, with a view to gaining insight into transformation constraints, the third project aims to assess whether there are differences in the perceptions of the NWU‟s CA students from different campuses and different ethnic backgrounds regarding the efficacy of various students achievement drivers. Both these projects involve a written survey on student perceptions on achievement barriers affecting the NWU. The participants to these projects were 790 CA students and the results are analysed statistically.
The strength of achievement barriers and transformation constraints indicated in the accounting education literature might not reveal the complete picture of the reasons why students fail, especially at the first-year level where failure and dropout are often of great concern. To, therefore, determine the full range of barriers, the fourth research project has the objective of diagnosing any possible reasons for student failure (that are not necessarily addressed in the literature) and, more specifically, failure to complete the first year of CA studies at the NWU successfully. This project is approached in a wholly qualitative manner through a discursive analysis of four separate focus group interview transcripts involving a total of 29 randomly selected failed CA students. The first four research objectives reveal a number of weaknesses in the NWU‟s CA programme in need of amelioration, and various recommendations are made in this regard. A major theme arising is the lack of skills development and assessment opportunities afforded to students in the NWU CA programme. The thesis then explores the use of integrated case studies and business simulation assignments as educational tools to address this problem. Faithful to the fifth research objective of developing and evaluating a prototype of the most needed tool recommended as an educational intervention, an actual inter-disciplinary integrated case study and business simulation assignment is developed to enhance students‟ professional skills. The success of the assignment is evaluated by having 56 third-year CA students actually complete the assignment and then testing their experiences thereof utilising an adapted questionnaire designed for this purpose, followed by statistical analysis of the data.
The contributions of this thesis are manifold including, but not limited to, the identification of a variety of areas for amelioration in accounting education practices, being one of very few comprehensive studies that investigates many achievement barriers holistically. This thesis sheds new light on some themes that have not yet been sufficiently researched in prior literature, including the value of career-oriented communication, transformation in accounting education, student failure in South African accounting education and the usage of inter-disciplinary integrated case studies or simulations in accounting. It further contributes a new empirical questionnaire, the reliability of which has been confirmed, making further research possible in various other settings. It benchmarks South African accounting education to that of at least one developed country; such international comparisons are scarce in the accounting education field, especially involving Africa. Moreover, it offers explanations for the drivers of pedagogical approaches in accounting education with reference to various forces rooted in institutional theory and education theory. The author, however, believes that the most practical contribution of this thesis is the actual inter-disciplinary case study and business simulation assignment which can be used or adapted by accounting educators to develop and assess professional skills and which provide some evidence of students‟ experiences of such an assignment that can inform the development of future assignments. Inter-disciplinary integrated tools are scarce in this field.
The thesis is of managerial value for the NWU, but its findings are not confined to the domain of this institution, as they should provide useful insight for other institutions and accounting educators, as well as government(s) and professional bodies as the guardians of the profession. Delivering a higher quantity of better qualified CAs, especially from the designated population groups, are to the benefit of the whole country. Most of all, this thesis provides evidence of efforts to make a difference in the continuous quest to ameliorate accounting education one step at a time.Doctora
Developing an engagement performance framework in enhancing government sector audit report quality in Uganda
Get PDFPhD (Accounting), North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusAudit quality has been a major debate within the financial reporting and auditing fraternity for decades as a result of major corporate collapses and scandals such as that of Enron (Neri & Russo, 2014:25; Deis Jr & Giroux, 1992:463) and Wells Fargo (Corkery, 2017) in the private sector, but also the OPM and Irish Aid 2012 scams in the government sector in Uganda (Kasigwa et al., 2013:26-27). This has sparked growing interest in the necessity and importance of producing high quality audit reports (Francis, 2004:35), although Deis Jr and Giroux (1992:462) reported that there are limited audit quality studies focusing on the government sector, a shortcoming this study partially addresses. The study seeks to establish, evaluate, and propose improvements to the key OAG engagement performance QC measures (deployment, review, supervision, documentation and pre-engagement discussions) and audit quality indicators (AQIs), in order to develop a new OAG engagement performance QC framework for use at engagement level for public universities’ audits.
The study utilises a cross-sectional design involving the adoption of a qualitative research strategy; the multiple case studies being those at four public universities, OAG Uganda and five private audit firms (two ‘Big 4’ and three local Ugandan firms); used semi-structured open-ended interviews administered to 51 respondents while data was coded a priori and analysed using the Atlas.TI software and the engagement performance QC framework developed was discussed and refined by a panel of six experts using the Delphi technique towards meeting the unique OAG QC needs.
The study shows that the OAG faces several challenges in ensuring consistent QC at engagement level such as high workload, partial or no documentation using Teammate audit software which limits compliance with the auditing framework and methodology, poor work assignment and resource deployment style, undefined audit supervision and review responsibilities leading to an overlap of roles by senior managers, poor QC for outsourced universities’ audits, client audit stress from analogous audit activities by accountability institutions and poor attitude of staff and management towards quality management.
Study findings further revealed that audit impact assessment, monitoring and reporting is not the OAG’s mandate which stops at issuing an opinion and/or assurance, the need for the OAG to adopt the pooling deployment system to eliminate slack time and deficiencies associated with the current directorate system, introduce a three-year rotation policy for OAG in-house audit entities to complement non-rotation of teams, auditees’ desire that the OAG provides actionable or implementable audit recommendations and adopts total or positive reporting of key auditee achievements, adoption of the Management Information System (MIS) to improve audit processes and quality management in the OAG and significant debates on whether or not to disclose the OAG AQIs to the public.
This study contributes significantly to the theoretical and empirical understanding of audit quality and QC in the government sector, with its most significant results being the development of a new ‘OAG DRSDPA engagement performance QC framework’ to improve QC for in-house and outsourced universities’ audits at engagement level, and major recommendations like the need for regular SAI inspections by professional organisations like the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) and African Organisation of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E); the need for parliament to develop a local board or commission responsible for guiding the OAG regulatory activities to avoid regulation capture and set the maximum delay period allowed to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for discussion of audit reports; the need for standard setters like International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) to revise International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) to provide guidance on quality management for in-house and outsourced government audits and allowed practices to audit institutions in disastrous periods; while researchers need to assess the
impact of government audit outsourcing on the OAG’s workload and audit quality and the effectiveness of ISSAIs and ISAs (International Standards on Auditing) triangulation in conducting and reporting on government audits of public universities. The results are therefore relevant to the OAG, key stakeholders like parliament and CSOs and international jurisdictions like standard setters, academics and the research community.Doctora
Mandatory audit firm rotation in South Africa : suggested solutions to prospective problems
Get PDFMCom (Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusIn response to the increasing number of financial scandals, many jurisdictions introduced more prescriptive rules with the aim to enhance the independence of auditors. Similarly, the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) issued a rule on mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR) for South African public interest entities (PIEs) effective from 1 April 2023. This regulation forbids auditors of PIEs to be appointed as auditors for more than ten consecutive years. Contrasting views exist on the effectiveness of MAFR in South Africa. Proponents believe that this rule will increase audit quality due to improved auditor independence, however, opponents argue that MAFR will reduce audit quality due to the loss of client and industry-specific knowledge by the auditor.
This research study aims to contribute to auditing literature by examining the consequences MAFR had in other jurisdictions which implemented similar rules. Differences between South Africa and the identified countries are used to anticipate how specific problems could manifest in a South African context. The difficulties experienced by other countries are then combined with the expectations of affected parties in South Africa. Suggested solutions to prospective problems are explored with the aim to help audit firms and the IRBA set pro-active measures in place to ensure that MAFR has the desired effect on audit quality in South Africa. The primary research objective of this study is to determine what pro-active measures could reduce the potential negative effects of MAFR to such a degree to support the implementation of MAFR in South Africa.
This study consists of both a literature study and a qualitative empirical study. The literature study provided background for the implementation of MAFR in South Africa and includes a detailed comparison with eight other jurisdictions around the world that already implemented MAFR. The empirical study supplemented the findings of the literature study by exploring the views on auditor independence as well as on potential problems and possible solutions through semi-structured interviews with six registered auditors and six academics teaching auditing.
The study found that MAFR will likely improve auditors’ independence in appearance which would help restore the public’s opinion of the audit profession. Possible solutions proposed to mitigate the effect of client specific knowledge loss include the up-skilling of audit trainees and the management of audit clients with problem solving abilities and encouraging knowledge sharing between the predecessor and the successor audit firms. Furthermore, it is suggested that the IRBA should introduce an audit fee framework to assist auditors in determining and explaining audit fees to clients to prevent low-balling. Besides the possible contribution towards improved independence in
appearance, it is believed that MAFR will have a limited effect on the audit market concentration and the transformation in the audit profession.
This dissertation contributes to the gap in literature on MAFR in South Africa by anticipating possible problems based on experiences in other jurisdictions. Furthermore, the suggested solutions which were gathered provides the IRBA as well as audit firms with measures that can be put in place to help limit likely negative consequences that will be caused by MAFR. The empirical evidence of this study could also assist countries which are still deliberating on introducing MAFR by providing an understanding of how knowledgeable parties would react to the implementation of such a regulation; and which problems should be addressed from the start.Master
Molecular screening for the presence of large deletions or duplications in BRCA using Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification in South Africa
No full textEnglish: Germline BRCA gene mutations are associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancers (OVC). Identification of these mutations greatly improves the preventive strategies and management of patients affected with the disease. The large majority of alterations identified within BRCA1 and BRCA2 are point mutations and small insertions/deletions. However, an increasing number of large genomic rearrangements (LGRs) are internationally being reported. Their contribution to familial breast cancer risk varies for different populations, for in some countries it represents a founder mutation (such as the Netherlands), whereas in others this type of mutation is totally absent. The main objective was to optimize and validate this new technique for use within the diagnostic laboratory and to screen various South African (SA) population groups for the presence of these larger genomic rearrangements present within BRCA1 and BRCA2.
A total of 129 patients, who tested negative for the presence of smaller pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations were included in the study. The patients represented the Black, Indian and Coloured populations of South Africa. The selection criteria included being affected with breast cancer, have a minimum of one other family member affected with the disease or an early age at onset (diagnosed before the age of 45). Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples. Multiplex Ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was performed using the SALSA® MLPA® probemixes P002-C1, SALSA® MLPA® P002-D1 and SALSA® MLPA® P087-C1 for BRCA1 and SALSA® MLPA® probemixes P045-B3 and SALSA® MLPA® P077-A3 for BRCA2. The data obtained were analyzed by using the GeneMarker® software v 2.6.4.
Screening for the presence of LGRs within BRCA1 and BRCA2, did not reveal any genomic rearrangements present within these genes. Although no patients were identified that carried this type of deletions or duplications, the use of the five and two for BRCA2, of which one represented the confirmation set) were successfully validated for use on the diagnostic platform.
The data furthermore highlighted the dramatic effect that small deletions or duplications within these genes might have when situated within the critical ligation site of the specific probe set. The presence of these smaller mutations could result in false positive results.
The results of this study serve as a warning to pathology laboratories within SA, as the most common Afrikaner founder mutation situated within BRCA2 exon 17 affects the ligation of the probe set for exon 17. The presence of this mutation resulted in a reduced signal for exon 17, therefore a false positive result. This places emphasis on the confirmation of all potential positive results by using an alternative method or different probemix in order to prevent reporting of a false positive result.
The data gathered corresponded to that of previous SA studies and supported the tentative hypothesis that LGRs do not seem to play a significant role within the various SA populations. It does not contribute significantly to the familial BC risk within SA.Afrikaans: Oorerflike mutasies in die BRCA gene word geassosieer met familiële bors en ovariële karsinoom. Die identifisering van hierdie tipe mutasies kan voordele vir die aangetaste pasiënt inhou, rakende voorkomende strategieë en behandeling. Alhoewel die meerderheid van hierdie veranderinge in BRCA1 en BRCA2 enkel basispaar mutasies en klein invoegings of delesies is, word al hoe groter herrangskikkings in die genoom al meer in die internasionale literatuur beskryf. Die bydrae wat hierdie groter herrangskikkings maak tot die algehele oorerflike borskanker risiko, variëer. In sekere lande (soos Nederland) verteenwoordig die groter herrangskikkings ‘n stigterseffek, terwyl dit feitlik afwesig is in ander. Die doel van die studie was om die gebruik van die nuwe tegniek (Multiplex Ligation-dependent probe amplification of MLPA) te optimiseer en te valideer, sodat dit met vertroue gebruik kan word om pasiënte van die Suid-Afrikaanse (SA) populasies te sif vir die teenwoordigheid van hierdie tipe mutasies binne BRCA1 en BRCA2.
ʼn Totaal van 129 borskanker pasiënte is ingesluit in hierdie studie. Hierdie pasiënte het negatief getoets vir die teenwoordigheid van kleiner siekte-veroorsakende veranderinge in hierdie twee gene. Die pasiënte was verteenwoordigend van die Swart, Indiër en Kleurling bevolking van SA. Die pasiënt moes aangetas wees met borskanker, ten minste een ander aangetaste familielid in die familie hê of gediagnoseer wees voor ouderdom 45. Genomiese DNA is geëkstraheer vanuit volbloed. Die MLPA tegniek is uitgevoer deur gebruik te maak van vyf verskillende stelle peilstukke, drie vir BRCA1 en twee vir BRCA2 (SALSA® MLPA® P002-C1, SALSA® MLPA® P002-D1 en SALSA® MLPA® P087-C1 vir BRCA1; en SALSA®
MLPA® P045-B3 en SALSA® MLPA® P077-A3 vir BRCA2). Die data is verwerk deur gebruik te maak van GeneMarker® sagteware (weergawe 2.6.4).
Sifting vir die teenwoordigheid van LGRs binne BRCA1 en BRCA2, het geen positiewe resultate opgelewer nie. Hoewel geen pasiënte geïdentifiseer is wat oor groter herrangskikkings beskik nie, is die gebruik van die vyf verskillende ondersoekstelle suksesvol ge-optimiseer en ge-implementeer vir gebruik in die diagnostiese laboratorium.
Die studie beklemtoon egter die drastiese effek wat klein delesies of duplikasies binne hierdie gene kan hê wanneer die spesifieke mutasie in die ligeringsgebied van die peilstukke geleë is. Die teenwoordigheid van hierdie kleiner mutasies kan tot vals positiewe MLPA resultate lei.
Die resultate van hierdie studie dien as 'n waarskuwing aan patologie laboratoriums binne SA, aangesien die mees algemene Afrikaner stigtersmutasie in BRCA2 ekson 17 in so ‘n gebied geleë is. Die teenwoordigheid van hierdie mutasie in die ligeringsgebied lei tot ʼn verlaging in die sein vir ekson 17, met ander woorde ʼn vals positiewe MLPA uitslag. Dit plaas klem op die feit dat alle positiewe MLPA resultate bevestig moet word deur gebruik te maak van ʼn alternatiewe metode of ʼn tweede ondersoek stel. Sodoende sal foutiewe positiewe uitslae voorkom word.
Die data verkry uit hierdie studie stem ooreen met die van vorige SA studies en ondersteun die tentatiewe hipotese dat LGRs nie ‘n belangrike rol in die verskillende Suid-Afrikaanse bevolkings speel nie. Die teenwoordigheid van hierdie tipe herrangskikkings dra nie beduidend by tot die familiële risikos vir oorerflike borskanker in SA nie
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